By Nkosenhle Sibisi
Pinetown resident, Werda Grunewald completed this year’s Comrades Marathon to raise funds for the Robin Hood Foundation which will help to train unemployed young women in a skills programme through Knoop Academy, an organisation that empowers individuals to sustain themselves through sewing.
Grunewald achieved a bronze medal for the sub 11 hour at this year’s race. She said she has been running since earlier this year and raising funds for very kilometre ran through the Robin Hood Foundation.
She is part of the Team Vitality club and has completed Comrades Marathon three times. She said that she came to a realisation earlier this year how incredibly easy it is to make a difference in someone else’s life.
“I know about the work that Knoop Academy and Robin Hood Foundation did earlier in the year and I was a bit frustrated because as someone that has a full time job, it is not that easy to create the time to help other people. The combination of these two things made me think about what is within my control and ability to make a difference and that is how it came about. I was planning on running comrades anyway this year so I thought, why not do it in aid of something that I truly believe in,” said Grunewald.
The 48-year-old mother of two said that the journey towards this year’s Comrades Marathon was not easy as it was hard getting up to train in the dark and cold winter days.
“Running for Robin Hood made it easier because I was clear about why I was getting up, it was not just for me. I was lucky, I had no major injuries or sickness that I had to deal with so it was mostly smooth going. At this year’s marathon, It was hard. I think I might have started a bit fast and felt really hot by the time I was in Kloof, luckily it cooled down later and that helped a lot. I did a lot of walking from Westville to the Toll Gate bridge but then it was about 5 kilometers left and I just wanted to complete the race.” she said.
Grunewald added that she is happy with this year’s marathon as it was not just for herself but for a good cause. She thanked her family, the Robin Hood Foundation and her supporters for encouraging her along the way.
“I am happy with my achievement. I was hoping to do a sub 10 hour but I knew from the start that it would be a big push to get it. All indications was that I would not make it. It was still about 38 minutes faster than my best comrades time, so I am happy. Now I am motivation to do it again to get the sub 10 that I wanted. I would like to thank my family for putting up with me running so many hours and being away from them. Also my wonderful running friends that were there every week to run with me and kept me going. It’s no fun running alone. Thank you to all my friends and extended family for the support throughout the year. All my supporters on the road on the day. Lastly, thank you to all the Robin Hood supporters, when things were hard on the Sunday, I knew I could not let them down so they kept me going,” added Grunewald.
The Robin Hood Foundation co-ordinator, Jackie Psannis said that they are incredibly proud of Grunewald. “She is living proof that dynamites come in small packages. We are so grateful to Werda for putting in the hours and hours of training and then covering the entire distance of the comrades. We would also like to thank our incredible supporters of the Robin Hood Foundation, who once again got behind our ‘Comrades with a Cause’ and helped us reach an incredible amount of close to R70 000. Every single cent raised by Werda will go towards the life changing learnerships we sponsor, which help create talented, self sustainable individuals who are able to turn their learning into income streams for themselves. Werda’s every step on the comrades journey will leave a footprint on the heart and life of every single one of these learners,” said Psannis.
